An opposite phrase that almost always appears alongside "sound science" is "junk science", which roughly translates not to pseudoscience, but established science that goes against a rigid ideology or might cut into the funder's profits. The term is most commonly used by anti-environmentalastroturf campaigns and, sometimes, creationists. In any case, the "sound/junk science" dichotomy is usually a sign that blatant pseudoscience is involved.

It is unknown exactly where the term originated from, but its earliest usage seems to come from an astroturf campaign initiated by tobacco companies to deny the risks of second-hand smoke in the early 1990s. In 1994, Philip Morris and a PR firm created "The Advancement of Sound Science Coalition (TASSC)," headed up by industry-backedshystersSteve "the Junkman" Milloy and Michael Fumento. TASSC's site hosted Milloy's "Junk Science" page until it went defunct in the late 1990s (though the site lives on to this day, unfortunately), which spread copious amounts of denialism, including second-hand smoke denial, DDT denial, and global warming denial.

Various Republican officials have invoked the "sound/junk science" phraseology. Representatives Chris Cannon (R-UT) and Jim Gibbons (R-NV) formed a "Sound Science Caucus" in the early 2000s to oppose EPA regulations, it became a buzzword for administration officials during the Dubya years, and Frank Luntz encouraged lawmakers to use the phrase in his global warming memo.[2]

The term can be found in some creationist/Intelligent Design literature, though less often than in the cases described above. A few examples include the Discovery Institute's invocation of the phrase in response to the leaking of the Wedge Document and its use on some creationist websites.[3]

Admittedly, not every use of the term is interchangeable with bullshit. Some scientists defending actual science will occasionally use the term without knowledge of its euphemisticdoublespeak status. The Union of Concerned Scientists used the term in 1995 with their Sound Science Initiative (SSI), one year after the creation of TASSC. The SSI has since been abandoned, perhaps because of the euphemistic implications.